Concussion

Most people are concerned about the purity of their drinking water. There are several ways to purify water that include biological processes and chemical processes as well as using a physical barrier. The reverse osmosis method of filtration uses a selective membrane that is able to remove large molecules from a solution. This means that the selective or semi-permeable membrane can separate dirty or tainted water into clean and dirty water. Pressure is applied on the tainted water side of the membrane, and this allows the pure water to pass through to the clean water side. The larger molecules of the contaminant cannot pass through the membrane so the water is cleaned. SureAqua products use reverse osmosis (RO) for their water filters.

Carbon may also be used to purify water. In this method, water is passed over the activated carbon which attracts many impurities. However, it may not be as thorough as reverse osmosis. For example, both techniques can remove organic compounds such as pesticides and herbicides. However, parasites, cysts, viruses and other harmful constituents are only removed by the RO method. Another method uses ion exchange resins that bind to mineral salts in unpurified water. Most impurities in water are these dissolved salts, but this resin deionization process does not remove bacteria and viruses like RO does. This still puts SureAqua Products ahead of the games since they use the superior RO process.

Iodine is sometimes used to disinfect water. Five drops of two percent iodine like you might find in the medicine cabinet, is added to every quart or liter of water. For cloudy water add ten drops, and let it stand for 30 minutes. Iodine will not kill bacteria on contact. It needs at least 20 minutes depending on the concentration. One drawback to using iodine for swimming pools is that it is not an algaecide. Also the water may have an unpleasant iodine taste. Chlorine is often used to disinfect water since it can rapidly destroy most harmful microbes. Unfortunately it has limited effectiveness against pathogenic protozoa such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. SureAqua Products can easily remove these organisms with the RO method.

1.  Fresh water is important to the body. We need clean drinking water. We need fresh water for cooking and making drinks. Sensible eating and fresh water go together. We must work to cleaner water worldwide to maintain acceptable sources to provide this need.

2. If we fail to fresh water and keep it clean, we are going to be shut up to a diet composed of poisoned food. Not only fish, but other meat, fruits, and plants will deliver contamination to us. If we need healthy, clean fish to jump forth from brooks, streams, and seas, we will need to cleaner water. If we need healthy, organic produce, we'll need to cleaner water used to irrigate produce.

3. Fresh water is vitally important to human health. Clean drinking water is important to health, yet the UN and the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) report that 1.1 bn. folks around the world lack access to wash drinking water. The health results are disastrous. The UN endowments 2.2 million deaths yearly to poor water and sanitation. If we fresh water, provide better sanitation, and teach folk the right way to keep water clean, generations to come can enjoy longer and more fit lives.

4. A swimmer in fresh water is safe from diseases and sicknesses produced by tarnished and harmful water. A surfer does not need to fear swallowing water in a wipe out. Boaters and others who use our water for recreation can relax without concern about contaminants.

5. Fresh water is needed for fish and other wildlife species. We must cleaner water for wildlife that doesn't live in the water, but relies upon fresh water for health and cleanness.

6. We want to fresh water to cut back on our carbon print. Pablo Pster, Supportability Engineer and MBA, did an in depth and exhaustive study of the price of bringing a single litre of Fiji Water to America. He revealed that bottlers use virtually 7 times as much water to bottle it than you really drink. The full amount of water used to provide and deliver one bottle of imported water is 6.74 kg! In the procedure of making the bottle, getting water into the bottle, and delivering it to you, 250g of GHG emissions were released.

7. Each plastic drinking-water bottle takes centuries to biodegrade in a dump.

Many plastic drinking-water bottles litter the country. Some will be recycled, but the recycling process is alleged to damage the environment with poisonous cancer inducing agents. If we fresh water in order that it is actually freed from pollutants, additions, bacteria, and pathogen, folks are less certain to depend on bottled water.

8. Clean rain and snow aren't givens. Rain is only one step in the water cycle. Pure rain doesn't instantly fall thru the universe, filtered by the atmosphere and delivered from pure clouds.

Neither does pure snow. The rain, snow, and other rainfall we get find their way into the sky from bodies of water on earth. If we fail to pure water on earth, we are going to have increasingly polluted rain. Polluted rainfall is damaging to everybody and everything on which it falls.

9. We need cleaner water for all around cleanness. If it's your washing in the Maytag washer, your carpet underneath the cleaning machine, or your body under the shower, fresh water is obligatory for all round cleanness. From early preschool years onward, kids are taught correct cleanliness and it relies on fresh water.

10. The effects of insufficient access to cleaner water are too great. Many have voiced increasing concern that water wars are much more likely in the future than current battles for oil. Where access to fresh water is the essential nature of life, "no water" might mean "no peace." A failure to fresh water now may lead to worldwide warfare for generations yet to come. You may just be able to add more reasons. You'll substitute differing reasons, but the final analysis remains the same. We want to cleaner water. It is wiser, and less expensive, to keep water clean than to try and fresh water which has become mucky and polluted. Will we develop such knowledge for the leftover cleaner water we have?

Helpful Hint

If your cleaner water quandary is how to cleaner water marks from glass vases, you are just touching the top of this iceberg. If your water is clean, should it leave water marks on glass vases?

SECRET : You can remove water marks from glass vases.

I do not guarantee this may work on each vase, and prompt you to use these concepts at your own risk, but here they are.

Mix equal quantities of cold tea with vinegar, and melt a denture cleaner tablet in the blend.

Drinking More Water Can Make You Beautiful

Beauty and weight loss are multimillion dollar industries that essentially make their money from exploiting people’s insecurities. We’re saturated with media advertising products that claim to make old people young and fat people thin. It’s easy to get lost in the maze of false promises and exaggerated claims and to become cynical about all of it.

However, when you think about it, beauty and water weight loss really isn’t that difficult. It pays to get back to basics: eat healthy food, drink plenty of water and get off the couch and do some exercise every day. Sure, you may not drop 20 years, 20 kilos or 20 centimetres of cellulite, but it water weight loss won’t cost you anything, you’re not being lied to and it will work a damn sight better than most beauty products or programs anyway.

Often, when your body tells you you’re hungry you’re actually just thirsty. The thirst mechanism in the human body is relatively weak. So the brain doesn’t usually communicate thirst until it reaches two per cent dehydration. The hunger mechanism is much stronger, encouraging us to scour the fridge rather than reach for the water bottle. It doesn’t help that the symptoms of dehydration are similar to that of hunger. Someone who feels sleepy, irate, dizzy, shaky or weak is can be either thirsty or hungry.

If in doubt, a good water weight loss method is to drink a large glass of water and wait 15 minutes. Your body will tell you what it needs. If you’re trying to drop a few kilos (and who isn’t?) then you’re better off drinking water (which has zero calories) than eating food. Food can be high in calories and requires water to digest, increasing dehydration and beginning a vicious cycle if you were really only thirsty in the first place.

Don’t like the taste of water? Well, if you want to be successful with water weight loss the best option is probably just to learn to deal with it. You probably just don’t like water because you’re not used to drinking much of it. If you’re trying to lose weight through water weight loss, you will get used to it. But if you do find it really that distasteful, try adding a slice of lemon or lime to your water to give it a fresh, fruity twist.

It doesn’t really matter whether you drink water hot or cold, it will still have a rehydrating effect. However, don’t fall into the trap of drinking tea or coffee for hydration. Caffeine is a diuretic, which essentially dehydrates the body. Although some personal trainers and dieticians claim that caffeine can be good for weight loss as it brings your heart rate up, the general consensus is that it’s best to steer clear of caffeine altogether.

Similarly, energy drinks that claim to boost your performance are often sugary and calorie-rich. As a result, they can make you gain weight rather than lose it. If you really, really must, opt for diet versions of each drink, check the number of calories in the drink and opt for flat over fizzy. However, you really are better sticking with clean, purified drinking water.

Not only can drinking plenty of water help you to lose weight, it can also give you clear, beautiful skin. Water purifies the skin, washing out toxins and cleaning it from the inside out. Over time, drinking plenty of water throughout the day will clear up any pimples and give your skin a natural glow. That way you don’t need to spend lots of time and money buying cleansers, moisturisers and foundations: your skin will be beautiful already.

Regardless of what we may be told by cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies, water is the cheapest, most effective beauty product available. Drinking about 1L of clean drinking water per 30kg of your weight (e.g. if you weigh 60kg, drink 2L) per day is a good idea for anyone, regardless of whether they’re trying to make a water weight loss program work. Drink more water: it will make an enormous difference to your life. Start today: www.sureaqua.com.

At best, camping can be idyllic: you get in touch with nature, spend time with loved ones and explore new places. At worst, it can be a nightmare, a disappointing holiday spent cold, sick, covered in bites and squabbling with all your equally miserable companions. So when you go camping, it’s important to get it right.

First, decide what kind of camper you are. If you like your creature comforts, you’re best off finding somewhere you can park the car. This way, you can bring all the camping equipment you like and you don’t have to carry it all.

However, if you’re feeling adventurous and want to hike to your campsite, you’ll need to select your camping equipment very carefully. When you’re carrying everything with you, every gram makes a difference. Take as little as possible, and make sure your camping equipment is as light as possible.

Natural sources like lakes and waterholes are almost never safe sources for camping water. However, trying to carry all your camping water is effective and extremely hard work, so you’ll need some method of water purification.

There are several ways to ensure safe camping water.

The traditional method is to boil all your camping water in a billy on a fire or an electric stove. This is relatively safe, but it can be unreliable. Boiling restricts you to small amounts, is quite slow and often leaves you having to drink hot water on a hot day. You also need to consider how necessary it is to carry extra camping equipment to use an electric stove or a billy and what will happen if you can’t make a fire.

Another popular method for camping water is to take water purification tablets with you. Water purification tablets use chemicals like iodine to kill bacteria. On the plus side, they are cheap and quicker than boiling your camping water. However, many fail to kill off harmful protozoa like giardia and cryptosporidium, and they often make the water taste terrible.

The best option really is to invest in a water purification bottle or straw. They’re inexpensive, convenient and offer peace of mind. You don’t have to carry more camping water than you need and you can be certain you aren’t going to compromise your health and end up having a nightmarish camping experience.

Before engaging in any sport, you need to learn how to participate safely so you do not become injured. If you get hurt while engaging in the sport, chances are you will not return again. The same is true of Rock Climbing. Climbing is dangerous though and the higher you go, the greater your risk. Before you go out for the first time, you need to learn about how to prevent injuries as well as the appropriate gear that will help to keep you safe. Safety always need to be your top concern as you are not the only one who would be affected by a mistake. Others would too.

Injuries from a fall or other type of accident are actually very rare. In most cases, injuries occur from overuse. The elbows, wrists and hands are the most affected areas and can be prevented by entering the sport over a period of time. Make sure you stretch before each climb and choose exercises that will help to increase your upper body strength. Pull ups and push ups are great for this purpose and will benefit you greatly as you scale a rock face. Rock Climbing involves the entire body so make sure your regular workout routine takes this into consideration.

Your equipment is of great importance when Rock Climbing also. Not only do you need a rock face or wall to make use of, you will also need a harness, rope and other aids. Never engage in this sport without the assistance of a belayer which is nothing more than a climber who handles your rope. Tight fitting clothing is of importance as is a helmet to protect your head. Make sure you wear appropriate shoes, ones made of leather with soles constructed of a sticky rubber compound, and carry a chalk bag at all times. Tape for your hands, elbows and fingers will also be of great help.

So, let me guess: You’re perusing the Internet from a first world country. You live on more than $10 a day. You’ve got a bit of expendable cash in your wallet or bank account. If so, you’re in richest 20 per cent of the world’s population.

There are whole worlds of difference between the developing and the developed world. Nearly one billion people do not even have access to safe drinking water[1].

Of course, it isn’t as if nobody cares. In 2000, the United Nations set up a list of eight Millennium Development Goals, each designed to reduce the number of people suffering extreme poverty. One of these goals was to halve number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015.

According to the World Health Organisation, the situation has improved since 2000, but it isn’t on track to meet its target. 13 per cent of the world’s population still doesn’t have access to safe drinking water[2].

Despite the fact that water is heavy and often need to be carried long distances in remote areas, women and children bear the brunt the burden. In many cultures, it is their job to carry the water. Fetching water is one of many long and arduous tasks that can limit the time available for things like education and recreation.

Worse still is the lack of access to sanitation facilities. An estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide lack access to adequate sanitation facilities, making sanitation the largest cause of infection[3]. Instead of raised flushing toilets, many counties use squat toilets, holes in the ground or simply resort to public excretion. Poor sanitation facilities invariably lead to a degradation of water quality, worsening the cycle of illness and poverty.

Even without improving anything else in the developing world, if access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities was improved, the number of deaths and illnesses would instantly drop.

About 88 per cent of diarrhoeal disease is caused by a poor water quality, inadequate sanitation facilities and a lack of hygiene. An estimated 50 per cent of hospitalisations worldwide are attributed to inferior water quality.

If all these people had access to a low cost water purification system like the SureAquaStraw, hundreds of lives could be saved every day.

When you opt for bottled water instead of soft drink or fruit juice, you usually feel like you’re going for the healthy, economical option. However, the bottled water industry is much more sinister than you’d think.

1. Bottled water contributes to global warming

Bottled water is responsible for 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. Simply producing the plastic for these bottles costs 47 million gallons of oil annually. At least they’re recyclable, right? Water bottles are almost always recyclable, but more than 80 per cent never make it past the trash. Hopeless.

2. Bottled water is expensive

The average price for a small serve of bottled water is two dollars. The average price of the same serve of tap water is less than one cent. Per gallon, bottled water is more expensive than oil. In fact, the industry is valued at an average of US$60 billion per year.

3. In most Western countries, bottled water isn’t cleaner or healthier than tap water

Tap water often has fluoride added to strengthen your teeth, whereas bottled water doesn’t. Most countries, including America and the United States, have no law that states bottled water has to be better quality than tap water. According to Bottled Water, Pure Drink or Pure Hype?, a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, up to 40% of all American bottled water is the equivalent of tap water as it comes straight from a city water system.

Of course, it’s a good idea not to drink the tap water when you’re travelling overseas. The best option is to invest in a good quality filter. The best filters are either built into a bottle or can be used like a straw.

4. Bottled water is uncool

The word is out: drinking bottled water is about as uncool as being addicted to pokie machines, smoking while pregnant, or wearing your grandmother’s underwear.

Despite the slick advertising on the front of bottled water, featuring crystal clear water running through pristine valleys, bottled water doesn’t make anyone look healthier or sportier. It is all part of an advertising campaign by the large corporations who own the main bottled water brands that works by selling us a product we don’t need through scare-mongering and pretty pictures.

To protest against bottled water and sign the pledge to boycott bottled water from your life, visit: http://beyondthebottle.org

Want to know more, or spread the moral outrage amongst your friends? This thought-provoking eight minute video with cute animations should do the trick: http://youtu.be/Se12y9hSOM0

 You’re on a bus into the Amazonian jungle of Bolivia, South America. The woman at the bus terminal told you your journey along Death Road would take somewhere between 18 and 36 hours, and you’re beginning to realise why.

The road is so narrow that the bus only fits onto it with inches to spare. On one side is a cliff face that sometimes scrapes along the side of the bus, on the other side is a sheer drop of more than 3000 feet.

As soon as you’re used to that, a semi-trailer veers around the corner and the bus has to reverse back to the nearest point where the road widens slightly. Then it gets dark and it transpires the bus only has one headlight. Someone takes the role of holding a yardstick out the window to determine where the edge of the road is.

In broken Spanish, the Bolivian man next to you informs you with a chuckle that eight tourists died here yesterday. This could be it, you reckon. This could be the end of your life. You take a big sip of water, wishing it was whisky.

Traveling through South America, I ended up in Rurrenabaque, a town in the north-west of Bolivia’s Amazonian region. I set off into the jungle with five other ‘gringos’ (the local slang meaning tourists) for two weeks.

The jungle was dense. We slept on the bare earth, wrapping mosquito nets tightly around ourselves to protect from the swarm of insects and mosquitos. The sound of monkeys, wild boars, frogs and other creatures filled the night air.

After a few days of solid walking, we arrived at a small tribal community deep in the jungle. The tour guide told us they would provide food and water, so long as we carried it with us. Needless to say, we stocked up. However, the Amazonian jungle is humid and hot and the constant walking made us thirsty.

By the time we arrived at the community we had already finished all the water we had carried, and nearly all of the food. Not having much food was okay, because we could hunt animals and gather fruits. Pachamama (Mother Earth) would look after us. However, even in the jungle the water in Bolivia is dirty and unfit for drinking.

We filled our empty bottles with murky water from a river nearby, and used a thin leaf to try and filter out some of the muck. I wished I’d brought some water purification tablets or a water purification bottle. The locals thought it was strange we couldn’t handle the water, and laughed at the big fuss we made trying to filter out the dirt. Eventually, we got it to a slightly lighter shade of brown.

We spent days fossicking around the community, swimming in the river, hunting, picking fruits and exchanging stories. Many of the local people had never left the jungle their whole lives, and had no need for money or jobs. Pachamama looked after them, they said. Indeed, the jungle seemed to have a plant for everything. There were plants for fertility and abortion, to heal wounds and to give luck. There were plants you could eat to ward off mosquitos. ‘Todo necesitamos esta en la selva’, they told us, meaning ‘everything we need is in the jungle’. 

Maybe we just hadn’t found it, because when we returned to Rurrenabaque after two weeks in the jungle, our bodies were covered in bites and scratches, our clothes were ragged and we were all sick from the river water. However, we all agreed we were dirtier and happier than we had been our whole lives.

Planning to travel to the jungle? What you’ll need:

A good water purification bottle, and probably a portable water purification straw too.

A long-sleeved shirt and long pants, both made from durable material

Mosquito repellent with at least 15% deet

A flashlight

Sunscreen, SPF30 minimum

Thick socks and durable shoes

Swimmers

Camera

Toilet paper

Basic first-aid kit with iodine, steri strips, bandages, paracetamol, band-aids and anti-histamine tablets

Malaria tablets, depending on where you’re planning to go. Check out: http://www.malariasite.com/malaria/samerica.htm to see whether you need them.

If you've ever spoken to someone who has travelled much, you have probably heard many stories of people getting an upset stomach while traveling. You may even have heard a story or two about how someone's honeymoon or other special trip was completely ruined when they got such an upset stomach that they couldn't leave the hotel room the entire time. If you are considering traveling to Thailand, you should be careful to avoid this fate by being very cautious about what water you drink.

If you've ever watched the news following a major natural disaster, you may have noticed that the initial disaster itself is often followed by a series of outbreaks of sickness among the population in the area. It may seem strange that this would happen. An earthquake, for example, shouldn't be something that would make a person sick. Yet the people of Haiti suffered through their first outbreaks of cholera in many years after the large earthquake there. The reason that this kind of incident happens is that natural disasters often disrupt the ability of the public to access clean and filtered water and water is a major carrier of the type of bacteria that can make you sick.

Now that you understand why drinking water without being careful is a problem, you should be ready to make preparations for your trip to Thailand. You should be careful even with water that is supposed to be clean, because sometimes a pathogen that has no effect on people who drink that water every day can make someone from another country very sick. Though boiling water and using chlorine tablets is an option, this can be complicated and unpleasant. Your best option for safe drinking water while traveling to Thailand is to carry a filtering product with you such as those that are produced by SureAqua.

Every year there are people who spend thousands of dollars on setting up a trip that they end up being unable to enjoy because they get sick from the local water supply. An inexpensive filtration product from SureAqua can ensure that you get to enjoy your trip to Thailand instead of just telling everyone stories about how you never got out of your hotel room. 

Hunting is defiantly no new pastime; we didn’t always have the luxury of strolling to the fridge full of beautiful meat cuts. If you wanted to eat meat you would have to go and get it yourself. Even though hunting has become mostly obsolete (apart from remote regions of the world where it is still the main source of food). People all over the world are now and I think forever are still attracted to hunting as a sport that can get you closer to the land and the wilderness than any other, and test you physically and mentally more than most other run of the mill sports.

If you’re planning on going out for a long hunt over more than a day I cannot stress enough the importance of being prepared. This is an extremely dangerous sport and should be treated with respect. Make sure you have a well-stocked kit with you taking into account anything can happen, this should include: First aid, quality optics (binoculars, rifle scope), Phone, Wet weather gear, a good quality knife, Maps and compass, tent, backup food (you want always catch anything no matter how skilled you are) and I cannot stress the need for plenty of clean water enough!

As far as weapons go it really depends on what you are hunting but the best mutli purpose gun for almost all game is a 22. Lr (long rifle) preferably with scope which will make firing an accurate kill shot far, far easier. Never point the muzzle of you weapon at anything that you are not about to kill keep the safety on right up until your shot, the safety should not be a substitute for responsible fire arm handling. It’s also important to have pride in your gear service and clean it regularly and it will last your whole hunting career.

Think about camouflaging your body and even your gun. This tip is great for hunting turkeys which have great eyesight and will spot you quickly if you do not blend in.

Always remember practice makes perfect you’re not going to come back with much if you haven’t shot your weapon in months, spend plenty of time at the range and you will see the pay off on your hunt. Have fun, be safe and happy hunting.

Questioning Your Readiness

For those of us who have been through a natural disaster, some are all too wise after the event – not having been truly prepared in advance.

The question that I would pose to you regarding your level of preparedness would be; Are you prepared for the disasters that are more likely for your area? Are you aware of the conditions and hazards specific to your community?

I hope these questions will make you look at your disaster preparedness kit and plan from a perspective that will allow you to actually be better prepared and therefore give you better outcomes.

For example, the natural disasters which the state of Queensland  (EMQ; http://www.emergency.qld.gov.au/emq/css/householdplan.asp ) is more prone to are;

• Cyclone
• Severe storm
• Flooding
• Tsunami

With your local challenges in mind, does your disaster preparedness plan cover the need to have regular access to the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) http://www.bom.gov.au/ , and are you able to understand the reports/information and to have an appropriate plan in place to action if needed.

If the situation does require you to leave your home, are you aware of your local emergency support services and centres? Where would you go? There are many resources available locally to research that can save lives. Discuss your researched plan and detail with your family, rehearse your evacuation plan, who does what, where and when.

The sudden nature of these natural disasters would also mean that you would need a number of emergency kits;

• Comprehensive kit for home and family
• Individual “go kits” to leave urgently
• Compact kit in the car/office for use when needed when away from home

What are the requirements of the different kits? From the volume and weight requirements of storing/carrying food and water – to the need to actually store and carry volume – be aware of new technologies in these areas www.sureaqua.com

I hope that I have given you questions to help you “question”, questions that will give you the skills to prepare effectively.

Bushwalking is a great way to enjoy the unique display of flora and fauna that NSW has to offer, and get a bit of exercise along the way. Unfortunately the importance of safety is often overlooked. Too many people lately are going out into the wilderness inexperienced and alone and paying the price for it.

A simple Phone call to a family member close friend or police detailing when and where you are planning your walk may save your life. It is important to bushwalk with three or more people, that way if someone is injured one can stay and the other can go in search of help.

An appropriate Supply pack is an absolute must This should include: Plenty of food (fruit and nuts are great for quick energy), map and compass (and the knowledge to use them!), Mobile phone, First aid kit (thermal blanket included is wise), WATER (a portable water filter solution is an option) a portable water filter I have been using lately is the sureaqua bottle which allows me to source safe water no matter where I am, I can literally go up to a puddle of stagnant water and fill me bottle up! This is a great safety precaution. www.sureaqua.com

Jeans may seem like the perfect tough wearing answer for bushwalking, but in fact if you become caught in wet windy weather you will be far more comfortable in water and windproof gear. This point comes in handy when exploring some of the amazing, yet colder trails up in the Blue Mountains area.

If there is a Ranger or ranger station on your trail stop in before you leave the ranger will be chock full of info. On which are the best trails, poisonous plants and animals to steer well clear of and which track will fit your fitness ability. Be sure to check in on your way back to insure he/her doesn’t think you’ve gone missing!

As mentioned earlier there is an awesome display of wildlife in NSW, its wise to remember that Australia is home to some of the most deadly spiders and snakes in the world, so it’s best to keep your wits about you.

I believe bushwalking to be one of the most inspirational adventures Australia has to offer us, so most of all get out there and get into it!

Almost every day you, hear about a disaster happening somewhere in the world.  It appears that whenever you open a newspaper, listen to a radio, or watch a TV news report, there a report of a natural disaster of some kind somewhere around the world.   From floods in Australia, to Earthquakes in Japan, the fires in California, to mud slides in Brazil, typhoons in Florida to droughts in Africa.

There are predications that at any one moment of time, something like 200 million around the globe are displaced because of some kind of natural disaster. A horrifying number!

In most cases there is huge human loss which is overwhelming tragedy.  As well as the human loss is the long term economic impact because of loss of manufacturing, mining and agriculture industries, significant loss of infrastructure as well as  long term illness due to breakdown of core infrastructure facilities’ like power, transportation,  sanitation and water purification plants and the list goes on. 

In many of the cases, the suffering can be significant reduced when countries, states, provenances, communities, families and individuals are better prepared.  Preparation could range from having the right building codes for earth quakes, have man made flood barriers, to vegetation growth on hill slides to avoid mudslides, having  appropriate disaster environments , having prepared disaster coordination centres to readily move emergency workers to resolve any impeding issues.

What is important to understand that every one of us has a degree of responsibility in preparing for the most common major disaster in your local environment?  For example, typhoons are very common in Central America, so why not be prepared for a potential typhoon. In California, the key risk are earthquakes, fires, tsunami and severe storms.   

There are a number of key steps that you and your family can take to reduce the impact of a natural disaster.

In a natural disaster, there are typically 3 phases,

1.  the lead up time for the potential disaster

2.  the actual disaster the period

3.  just after the disaster until normality

Further articles will provide you ideas about how to manage survive and manage your way through this adventure.

Water is one of the most precious resources we have on our planet.  It covers 60% of our land surface,  2.5% of the water is fresh water and of the fresh water that is drinkable or consumable is less than 1% of that 2.5%.

There have been many studies performed around the world and most show that over 70-90% of water catchment areas are contaminant and are unsuitable for drinking or evening bathing.  A staggering statistic! What is worse, is that the water may appear to be clear and safe to drink but is NOT.

That is a pretty poor reflection on how we have contaminated our water supply over time.

The level of contamination in our water occurs in developed, developing and under-developed countries.  We as human race have done a great job to creating one Mammoth disaster for ourselves!

Water contamination, in developing countries is growing a far more rapid rate than developed countries since they are in catch up mode and do not have the resources to address basic environmental protection.  These countries don’t necessary have the regulations and laws, or more the resources to enforce/ prevent environmental damage. 

Essentially all water needs to be treated and managed to make in useable for use.

Yes all water!

There are two distinct contamination flavours in our water ways, these are;

·         Chemical Contamination caused by manufacturing, mining and households – man ,made.

·         Bacterial and viral contamination

The ramifications of the chemical contamination are only now being understood.  The rise of cancer is dramatically increasing and can be seem to at higher levels around contaminated areas.

Bacterial and viral contamination also has a high impact; millions of people are dying from bacterial and viral related illness directly resulting from exposure to contaminated water.

For most people in developed nations water illness result from,  not being used to the local bacteria in water,  and the other more serious of giardia, cryptosporidium and worst still, cholera outbreaks.

It is surprising, how easy each of us can get gastric discomfort by drink water even though it is tested and passed by authorities.   Authorities are working on improving the cleansing of our water. 

There are many explanations on why supposedly clean water makes people ill.  It is thought that most common is, that the bacteria present in the water is cause.  For the locals, they have got used to the bacteria and have built immunity though for new people to the area, not so.

Ideally when you travel to new location and you are not used to the water, the use a trusted water filter system that you can carry around like the SureAqua products will protect you from exposure to potential bacteria in the water that will challenge your immune system. Prevention is the key.

Are you, in any way, prepared for some kind of disaster to hit your area?  If you stop 100 random people on just about any street in any town or city in any part of the country the answer you will get is, not only NO, but they will also tell you that they really don't know how to get prepared for a disaster coming to their area.  This a very sad but true statement of fact.

It was made very clear, just how unprepared for a disaster people are when it was displayed all over the TV during the Katrina Hurricane disaster that hit and devastated the New Orleans area.  It is also shown when the news reports hurricanes, tornadoes and earth quakes hit an area.  It shows how much people need the bare necessities brought in to them just to be able to survive.  We see these things every year on the TV news.  After seeing these things happening so often you would think that people would want to prepare at least a little, but they haven't.

The very first suggestion I want you to think about is finding out just exactly what kind of natural disaster could hit the part of the country you live in.  Search the Internet to find the history of the area you live in to see what sort of disaster has come to your area in the past.  By knowing what has happened in the past where you live you can prepare to survive that kind of disaster should it return to hit your area again.
If you live near the ocean, a freak hurricane could visit you or even a huge tsunami that came across the ocean from another part of the world, could come crashing in the area where you call home.

Some areas are prone to having tornadoes hit their area fairly regularly, so the people that live there, or move into that area, should prepare to survive a force 5 tornado, and hope they never have to try to live through one, or the mess of the after-mat of something like that.

You will also want to make what preparations you can to survive a not so natural disaster the comes to your area.  Just ask the people in New York about how fast they learned about that with the 9/11 Twin Towers terrorist attack and the after mat of that huge mess. 

Now that you know why you should have some kind of disaster preparedness handy, let's talk about what you need for your emergency supply survival kit.  First you need some kind of water filter or a safe supply of clean drinking water, food (preferably the kind that you can, but don't need to cook or warm up), some means of emergency shelter (like a tent or materials that you can make some sort of tent out of), a light source (candles and flashlights (with the right size batteries)), tools (knife, ax or hatchet, shovel and things like that) and clean changes of clothing.

There are many portable water filter devices available in the market that claim to be able to remove bacteria, giardia, cryptosporidium and viruses out of water.  You do need to read the fine print.  Most won’t guarantee to acceptable levels of 99.99% and above (when including manufacturing quality) nor most have safety switch off mechanisms.  Also make sure the products have been independently tested. 

One such device that exceeds all internationally recognised guidelines, has been independently tested by various governments around the world and has a safety switch-off mechanism is the SureAqua filter. This is a great small device that you use like a straw to drink water through and it filters the water as you are drinking.  You can check out this device on the Internet at http://www.sureaqua.com/water-filters.  You will be amazed at how small it is.  You could keep several of these around for emergencies or just to take camping with you.

The emergency food that I recommend that you get and keep on hand is called MRE's (this means Meals-Ready-To-Eat).  They come in a variety of menus and can be eaten cold (right out of their packaging) or they have a tool for warming them that just takes a little water added to it while it and the main food package is in a plastic sleeve that is included.  This kind of food can be kept for 5 years or longer, depending on how you store it, and it will not spoil, it will be ready to eat whenever you want, or need too.  One web site (http://www.thereadystore.com/mre ) that also sells the food in kits for as few as 3 days or as much as a full years supply.  They also sell packaged water which is good to have in addition to any water filter that you have in your kit.

That web site also sells complete kits for multiple people groups from a couple to a family of 4 or even an emergency kit for helping as many as 50 people for 3 days to a week.

You will need to have a tent or tents capable of keeping you and your family out of the weather when you sleep at night.  Sleeping bags or extra blankets with some kind of waterproof cover will also be needed.

Besides your water filter or packaged water, food, shelter, lighting, a communication device (radio), waterproof matches and tools you will also want to figure out other things that you may find useful if your survival situation is for an extended period of time.  I keep three full kits (complete with MRE food and a portable water filter) packed away just in case I may need them some time in the future. You will probably want to get a small emergency kit to start with and add to it over time.  Then you at least know you will be able to survive should any kind of disaster visit you.

Let me tell you about a little secret!

This amazing health device will amaze you.  This amazing product invention is now available to the market.  It is truly remarkable and a must have product for anyone who is travelling.

Do you want to AVIOD MORE GUT WRENCHING stomach and bowel problems on holidays? 

It is a personal  portable water filter that actually works.  It is small and ultra-lite weight, enough to fit in your pocket, backpack or handbag.  No bigger than 4 standard drinking straws place together.

Why did I not hear about this before?  

It has only just been released after a number of years of exhaustive testing and obtaining approvals by a large number of international government agencies and accredited laboratories, from the US to Australia, Europe and Asia.   It’s a product that has been accept by the United Nations , exceeds CDC guidelines by a number of factors.  A number of government agencies around the world have already started using the products as part of their Aid and Disaster Preparedness kits.

The concept is simple, the device works by having an extremely fine filter to remove nasty microbiology that can make you sick. The membrane acts as a size exclusion barrier, trapping the nasties in the body of the SureAqua products as you drink through them, nasty microbiology trapped – clean water passing through.  The trick is to make it easy enough for an average person to suck through without having lungs of a superhero.

You may be thinking there are already portable water filter products in the market place that does this already.  Well make sure you read the fine print details in the specification, you will find that it doesn’t take out bacteria, or all bacteria and more than likely takes only some of the taste using some kind of activated carbon or resin.  It does serve its purpose though if you want to take out the bad bacteria and protozoa’s forget about it!

As you are already thinking how what a great idea? Why hasn’t this been thought of before? It’s all in the construction and usability.   This is what took so long to develop and manufacturable to make cost effective for the consumer.

Being a seasoned traveller, I take extreme precaution in what I eat and what I drink whilst you are traveling, backing or hiking.  No matter where I go, from Australia to Asia, the South America to Europe and even in the USA.  It’s nothing worse than losing days off my holidays because of a tummy bug.  Particularly  when it’s avoidable!

Here is an interesting little fact.  The number one illness whilst travelling is gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, dysentery.   What would you think the statistic for having diarrhoea? 

In a number of internationally conducted studies the percentage is in the region of 28% to {as high as|a staggering/alarming}  28%.    About 50% of those people it severely disrupts at least 1 full day of their break and not to say the recovery period of 2 to 3 days.  About 0.5% of people are actually hospitalised, with a number of people bringing illness home with them and then having this impacting their return to work.  You may think it is generally the elderly, this is the furthest from the truth, it’s the 20-34 age group. 

As I found out it is all too easy to get diarrhoea, from drinking water to brushing your teeth to eating a salad.   Just a couple small tips about how to avoid water borne bacteria

o   Eat only fruit that can be peeled

o   Avoid any salads

o   Always  drink filtered water, effectively filtered water

o   Remember to keep your mouth shut in the shower

o   Use filtered water when you brush your teeth

o   Be careful of bottled water as it in many areas the water comes straight from the tap

o   Don’t trust the tap water from even 5 or 6 star hotels

o   Don’t have ice in your drink, bacteria can live for some time in ice

o   If boiling water, only drink water that has been boiled for at least 5 minutes

o   Don’t be fooled by thinking iodine or chlorine will kill protozoa’s and hard shell cysts effectively, they will not

This travel gadget is really inexpensive/cost effective/great value! 

Just consider, this product can be reused, over and over again on any vacation up to a staggering 6 months, has the ability to filter to 500 litres/ 164 gallons making the cost of water per litre 0.4 cents a litre.  Remind me what the cost of bottled water is – and you do you actually know that it is free of the nasties that will make you sick?  What was the cost of your holiday?  You can’t go past it, the SureAqua products are an amazingly inexpensive while EASY to use insurance policy.

You take out travel insurance, hey, spring for a SureAqua portable water filter and protect yourself in an easy practical way – you suck, it filters, it’s that easy.

Do yourself a favour and check it out at SureAqua   Be early as these are going off like hot cakes.

Not only is a must on your next holiday, they sort of look cool.

When you do your research, be really careful of other products in the market place. 

1.       Always check that it filter to at least  1 micron, the SureAqua products have a minimum filtration of 0.2 micron

2.       That it stops working when it is ineffective there, carbon and media filters lets the water flow even after they stop working. 

3.       Find out how long you can store the products, chemical purification has a limited shelf life.

4.       Check out the disclaimers and warranties – some actually really highlight that the company isn’t standing behind their products or claims.

Let everyone know about my little find.

Your first backpacking holiday can be filled with excitement, a sense of adventure and even nervousness -  a myriad feelings.  One of the most pressing feelings might be of confusion.  Where to start and what to do to make it happen.  How can I make this work?  But I can guarantee it does it get it easier the more backpacking you do.  And for the experienced backpacker, there might be an element of complacency.

 Importantly, set a date and don’t move it!  Its sets YOUR goal.  Work methodically towards the date, where are you travelling to, for how long, who with, where will you stay and the budget that you will need.

To help both the inexperience and experienced I have developed an essential backpackers checklist that has worked for me more many years of travelling the world through many and varied environments.

There is a real balancing act that needs to be performed from having a safe, exciting holiday as opposed to a dangerous and unforgettable backpacking holiday for the wrong reasons.

For the inexperienced traveler,   you will need to be well prepared for the unexpected.  Doing sufficient research is a real key tip for a backpacking trip.  This will ensure that you get the most of your trip that will bring you with a lifetime of memories. 

One of the best ways to learn about backpacking holidays is talk to people have done this before.  Speaking to personal friends who has this before is a great source information.  If this is not available there is a huge amount of information available on; via backpacking websites; backpacking chat rooms, read some backpacking books all have get ideas and support material for your backpacking trip.

Here are some of the most important things to prepare for the adventure of a lifetime.

Next entry we will go into detail regarding what items have worked for me to be included in my backpacking check list from a packing perspective. Everything from the obvious – ultra lite weight water filter, I really like the SureAquaStraw and the SureAqua bottle (I will let you know why), to the consideration of how much clothing you REALLY need.

This backpacker checklist may seem over whelming. However, this check list will help you to make sure you minimize the chance of your experience being thrown a curve ball.

Hope this Backpacker Checklist helps towards making your backpacking adventure a memorable one.

There is nothing more important to any living thing then water.  Unfortunately, the quality of drinking water around the world is in a continuous degradation process due to things such as chemicals and biological contaminates.  It has been proven that in normal conditions over 60%, see NY Report, of water available has some form of contamination.  In the case of disaster preparedness it is more important than ever to have a plan in place to assure that you and your loved ones have access to the healthiest water possible.

Regardless of the type of disaster that an area is prone to, the first step in disaster preparedness is to have a survival kit.  Naturally, the most vital part of that kit is the water consideration. 

Many people feel confident in having a supply of bottled water available.  The issue, see reference see NY Report,  with most bottled water is that there are no regulations to guarantee that the water inside these bottles is actually safe and healthy.  Many times it is merely taken straight from the tap.  The EPA administers the Safe Drinking Water Act  to protect public drinking supplies.  The water found in bottled water does not have to undergo the same testing that is required of a public facility.

The question is how to be able to assure that your water is pure and clean?  The solution is to include a remarkable product called the SureAqua drinking straw in every survival kit.  It filters the water you drink as you drink it, guaranteeing the purity.  The survival kit for disaster preparedness should include things such as food, blankets, tools, flashlights, candles, a weather radio and blankets.  The size of the kit can be determined by the storage space available.  If the choice comes down to adequate room for food or water, then water should get priority. People can live a long time without food but only a few days without water.  A good rule of thumb is to store a gallon of water a day per person.  Half of the water is for drinking and the other half is allotted for cooking and sanitary needs.

No one wants to think about disaster preparedness, but it is the key to survival.  Fresh clean drinking water is a commodity that is priceless in these situations.  Because the water available can be unfit for consumption a way to purify water is vital.  TheSureAqua filters are easy to store and carry when traveling while providing easy access to safe drinking water.

One of the times the importance of safe drinkable water becomes especially important is in the aftermath of a natural disaster.    As the earth's limited supply of good quality drinking water is degraded by pollution and other factors, many are worried about future water supplies.        People in industrial countries don't worry much about water quality as long as the water coming out of their faucets is safe to drink.    Millions of people in developing counties don't have those faucets and running water in their homes.   They rely on water in streams and lakes near their villages and farms, or on public wells.  

When a large natural disaster strikes, the safe water can suddenly be tainted, contaminated or gone.    The recent earthquakes in Haiti, China, Japan and other counties around the world caused millions of people to become homeless, and destroyed plumbing and safe water sources.    One of the most important supplies to get to these earth quake victims was safe drinkable water.    You can go without food for days, but you can't live without safe water.    Part of every disaster preparedness plan should be access to safe drinkable water.  


Tornadoes, floods and hurricanes can disrupt the normal water supplies of towns, cities and rural areas.  Hurricane Katrina was an example of how there can be way too much water--all of it unsafe to drink.    Imagine being on the verge of drowning while suffering from extreme thirst. The phrase "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" becomes all too true after a natural disaster causes all the open water sources to be undrinkable.    In these cases access to safe drinking water is the difference between life and death to many people.  Disaster preparedness plans that included portable water filtration devices like that of the SureAqua that provides the highest quality of clean safe drinking water.      In choosing a portable water filtration device consideration must be made for the storage.     Chemical and ionisation products have a very short life span, typically less than 12 months and less in hot humid conditions.  

Every village, town and city should have a warehouse full or portable water filtration devices set aside as part of their disaster preparedness plans.    Every home should have access to a portable water filtration device to supply of safe water.  The devices should be small enough to be able to be kept in safe places, like in the car, home and handbag/briefcase, just in case of an emergency.   But, what if the emergency becomes a lack of good quality drinking water around the world?    What if the world's water quality is degraded beyond safe limits?  

This is where a product range like SureAqua come in its own in providing safe drinking water when water is contaminated with bacteria, protozoa’s and viruses.  

Water quality in lakes, rivers, seas and oceans needs to be guarded diligently so that future generations have water to drink.        If all the water is unsafe, where does the bottled water come from?   

In many countries around the world, there are no laws regarding the water quality standards for bottle water.     

Governments, scientists, industries, farmers and others need to cooperate in a worldwide plan to keep water supplies safe.     Clean up polluted water sources and keep them clean.  

Clean, drinkable water is a necessity for the wellbeing of the human race.   Water quality is becoming an increasingly challenging problem in the world community.     Not only is the shortage of drinking water a big problem, but the quality of the available water is being degraded by various kinds of pollution.   Various kinds of pollutants are tainting water around the world.     The problem of how to keep existing water sources clean and how to find new ways to clean tainted water to make it safe for drinking is being studied by governments and scientists around the world.

We need drinking water to be clean and safe for the health and wellbeing of people using it.     Polluted water can cause severe illnesses, illnesses that are extremely contagious, that can sweep through entire population groups.     Sometimes a water sources, like a lake or stream becomes polluted by overpopulation of the area around it.     Too many people use the water for too many things.     If a population uses a lake to bath in, to wash clothes in, to water cattle in and to dump waste in, it will become polluted.     Add industrial and farm run off and the problem become even worse.     Our water sources need to be managed to protect the water quality.

Water can become unsafe when bacteria and microorganisms get into the supply, rendering it unsafe for human consumption.     Bacteria can be introduced into a water supply by farm runoff, sewage dumping or spills, natural disasters like floods, earth quakes and hurricanes, runoff from roads or parking lots and over use for human and animal bathing.     Industrial chemicals and pesticides can endanger the health of anyone drinking the water they taint.     The world water supply is limited, so when its water quality is degraded to be unsafe to use, there is nowhere to go for more.   No water to drink, no human race.

There is a very large bottled water industry in the world today.     People around the world are becoming so unsure of the safety of their drinking water supplies, they choose to purchase bottled water that has a perception that the water quality is of a safe standard.    

The bottle water industry is essentially self-managed with only limited guidelines and obligations regarding the standards that they need to be met.    In a few developed countries, bottle water can be filled unfiltered straight from the tap or ground water (spring water).    Have a look at your state or country regulations to see what I mean.     

That is a solution for people who have access to bottled water and the money to purchase it, but what about those who are too poor to buy bottled water?

Ultimately, the best solution would be to make the international effort to educate people on how to clean up polluted water sources and keep water quality at safe levels.     Local populations, farmers, industries and governments all must cooperate to keep the worlds water clean and drinkable.     

Is this dream achievable?   It is, without question extraordinarily challenging.   Protozoa’s, bacteria, viruses are growing at rapid rates around the world, not only infecting human, but as well wild animals.      These wild animals inadvertently contaminate our water ways by animal excrement or dead and rotting carcasses in our water ways.  

Science must find better ways to purify drinking water that even the poor can afford.

Fortunately a company SureAqua based in Sydney, Australia has discovered a cost effective way to provide portable safe drinking water for the masses at less than 1 cent a litre.    They have harnessed membrane technology to allow it to filter bacteria, protozoa’s and viruses out of water.     It filters down to 0.01 microns.    This is a minimum 5 times smaller than the smallest virus and 100 times smaller than bacteria and protozoa’s.     

When choosing the right travel insurance for yourself, there are many questions that you need to ask, and these questions will change depending on the location and the purpose of the trip, time away etc.

For example, a policy which is suitable for domestic travel within Australia (when you are an Australian citizen) where you are covered by Medicare, will not be the same policy that you need for overseas travel for business, when taking your laptop and other expensive electronic items. These are differences that you need to be aware of and read all the fine print, particularly when buying your policy on line and not through your travel agent or directly from the Insurer.

Most policies will cover you for;

Some important questions to ask;

Do you qualify for cancellation coverage, hotels and airfares?
Do you qualify for medical expenses that suit your personal conditions and recent medical history at the time of travel?
Will you receive full compensation for lost/stolen luggage? – What’s in your luggage that might need to be itemized (electronics, sporting equipment, jewelry etc)
Are you covered for legal costs if you become involved in an incident/accident that may result in injury of another party?
How much travel will you be doing in the calendar year? Would it be more cost effective to purchase a policy covering you for multiple trips?
Is the policy for my needs overall – for example, there are policies available for Backpacking over general travel, with Family, international, long term travel are some of examples.
How easy is it to process a claim and recoup your out of pocket expenses?
What documentation do I need for a claim, what receipts/reporting (medical) are needed? These are always easier to get at the time – not when you’re back home!!

Always read the entire policy, and then read it again.

How could a Travel Gadget save your life?  Drinking contaminated water can in the worst case be fatal and at best you can be ill for a day or so with gastro. It is so easy to drink contaminated water.  In most cases, you are not able to see the harmful bacteria or protozoa’s (they are the mean one that give you Giardia and Crypto).  They are invisible. 

In most places you travel you should drink only purified water.  How do you know whether the water is clean or not?  You need to take precautions for yourself.  A travel tip, make sure you take a Aqua Safe Straw, Aqua Safe Straw+ and or  Aqua Safe Bottle) as part of your travel accessory.  It is a must of a travel accessory.  Even for everyday use, drinking filtered water is important.  Be sure that the filter removes everything to at least 1 micron.  Don’t accept anything else.  Did you know some bacteria can be as small as 1 micron?  Did you also know that Protozoa’s have hard outer shells that can repel chemicals.  To kill these protozoa’s you need high dosages of chemical making it almost undrinkable and dangerous for many people with allergic reactions or people with thyroids or pregnant women.

His is a travel tip. Always carry a AquaSafeStraw or AquaSafeStraw+ or AquaSafeBottle in your travel luggage.  It’s a must travel accessory.